Redtinged Lips
by Konsui's Little Brother
Summary: He didn't like people prying into his life. Ryou never had and he never would. Maybe that was why he liked Mai so much? Because she didn't pry and when she did she knew when to quit? Something that no one else seemed able to do.


A/N: Please, please, please don't judge my writing abilities by this story. It's a rather old one, for a pairing I completely detest now, but I felt the need to post it anyways.

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><p>"Hey, Dollface?" Mai, face scrunched up in confusion, sat the photograph she'd been looking at back down on the top of the old Victorian style piano. It was one of the only nic-nacks, if you could call a family-picture that, in the whole house; easily understandable as to how it had caught her attention.<p>

Walking out of the kitchen, pristine white tea-cups balanced ontop of an ornate looking silver tray, Ryou headed over to join the blonde at the piano. It hadn't been played in years, the melodous sounds of it's keys not gracing his ears since the crash. "Yes, Mai?"

Setting the tray down neatly on it's top and taking his cup from it, Ryou took a small sip of the liqued in it. Earl Grey tea, one of his favorites. Surprisingly, Mai wasn't all that oppossed to it's flavor either provided that honey and milk were added. Or the occasional sake if she was feeling especially...aggravated.

Leaving her cup sit on the tray, she couldn't stand drinking it when it was just brewed and still piping hot, the Harpy-duelist nodded her head in the picture's direction. She'd seen it before today of course, her numerous visits to the British boy's house made it impossible for her to not, but for some reason she'd never really thought about asking about it before. "Where're they at?"

The question threw him at first but, to Ryou's credit, he recovered remarkably well. Covering the sad smile on his face by taking another sip of his tea, Ryou let his eyes follow the older woman's.

The picture was a simple one. It had been taken outside of an airport in London right before his father left for an Archeology trip. Ryou had been seven at the time, wrapped up in his mother's arms. His twin sister, Amane, was standing proudly at their father's feet, the bright smile she was known for lighting up her face.

It was a gorgeous picture, really.

A shame that it was the last one they had taken as a family.

"Well?" Mai prompted. She wasn't one for letting things slide easily, especially not once they caught her interest. Besides, it wasn't like she was asking him to go into huge detail on anything.

"They're not here." A simple answer to a simple question. One the voluptous blonde would certaintly not take.

Of course, his wishes rarely came true."Gee, I hadn't realized that, Dollface." Mai rolled her eyes, dropping herself down on to the piano's bench as she did. Ryou joined her a second later, though he sat down with a lot more grace then the uncaring bikeresque girl.

Ryou was silent for a few more moments, chocolate brown eyes once more drifitng to the frame beside the tray. "Mother and Amane have passed away. Father is in Egypt right now, working at a dig." Again, a simple explanation, but it hurt less that way. Too not describe it, not say what took his mother and his sister from him. Not saying why his father was away, always away, helped as well.

Lipstick coated lips pursing together, Mai snatched her cup from the tray and took a very inproper swig from it. It wasn't the answer she was looking for but when did Ryou ever give her the answer she wanted? It was just one of the many attractive points he had, among which his lips were the at the very top. Spirit's, no boy should have lips that perfect!

Light blue eyes drifting to said lips, light pink and just there, as Mai idly ran her fingers across the piano's keys. Off-key music echoed through the room, the noise loud against the silence in the rest of the house.

"Mai?" Ryou blinked. Setting his cup down on the tray gently, Mai's recently picked up and completely undrank cup joining it. There was something about the look on her face...It was sort of unsettling, really.

Deciding that the answer really was enough, she hadn't wanted some drug out tear-fest anyways, the blonde smirked down at the whitette. He blinked up at her, confused, for a few seconds. That was all the time she gave him to think before sliding one hand into his hair and claiming his lips with her own.

Their lips merged with one another, dark red smearing onto light pink, before Ryou pulled back for air. Mai smirked again. "Sorry to hear that, Dollface." And, while she was sorry to hear about Ryou's loss, she really had no intention to go into it any farther.

They only had so much time before Bakura returned from wherever Malik had drug him off too and there were a lot better things that time could be used for instead of sulking over things that couldn't be changed.

This was proven when Ryou leaned up, one hand sliding shyly under her sun-streaked hair and behind her neck, and pressed his red-tinged lips against her own.


End file.
